


So Be It

by DarkReyna16



Series: Across Time and Space [4]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bad decisions are made, Light Angst, THE CIRCLE IS COMPLETE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-15 09:58:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7217920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkReyna16/pseuds/DarkReyna16
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Why the mage acted as memory thief.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haaaaaah.
> 
> I meant to post this ages ago, but as you all know, OTHER skeletons got in the way.
> 
> *Side-eyes Serif*
> 
> Anyway, enjoy! <3
> 
> ~Reyna

“…Another bottle, Sans?”

Sans lifted his head from the bar. Grillby was looking down at him, looking awfully concerned for a guy made of fire. Sans grunted under his breath, pushing his empty ketchup bottle back.

“Nah. I think that’s it for tonight. I’m gonna go.”

“You need me to call your brother?”

“Nah, don’t call Pap. I can get home by myself.”

“If you say so.”

Grillby didn’t look convinced, but Sans wasn’t going to bother to stay and convince him. His mood wasn’t that great to begin with, and the bottles of ketchup hadn’t really helped…so it was now that time of the night where Sans would go home and sulk in his room, and try very, very hard not to think about _her_.

And fail. As usual.

Grunting, Sans hopped down from his stool.

“I’ll see ya, Grillbz. Add to my tab, okay?”

“Your never-ending tab. Of course.”

Sans grinned weakly at that, and then turned to go. It may be autumn outside, but it was a little too stuffy in the bar tonight, anyway. Sans breathed deeply once he stepped outside, the crisp night air cooling him down. Sadly, it did nothing to improve his always gloomy mood. Such a shame. Clutching at the locket he kept hidden under his clothes always, Sans climbed down the steps, wondering if he had the energy to either walk or teleport home tonight.

“Oh, you have _got_ to be _fucking kidding me._ ”

Sans paused, his gaze going to the alleyway besides Grillby’s II. It was rare for him to hear furious cursing coming from there. And it wasn’t a voice he recognized, either…

The skeleton frowned to himself. What did he care? The last time he became interested in something that was a little out of the ordinary, he had gotten his heart broken. Hadn’t he learned his lesson by now?

Huffing, Sans shoved his hands in his pockets, determined to leave whoever was over there to their business. But then there was another bout of cursing, and a strange clicking sound. Sans paused, closing his eye sockets. Not worth it, not worth it, not worth it…

“No—shit! Ugh! Oh, _fuck_ this.”

A sudden, foreign crackle of energy pulsed through the area. Sans’ eye sockets widened, his gaze going to the alleyway again. No…that wasn’t what he thought it was…was it…?

As if pulled by another force entirely, Sans felt himself move towards the alleyway, approaching carefully. He flattened himself against the wall, only sticking his skull around the corner as he peeked to see who was making all the ruckus.

There was a girl there—a human girl. No, not girl—woman. She was leaning against the wall, a flicker of light in her palm, cupped towards her face as she lit what appeared to be a cigarette. She drew her hand back, whipping it through the air like she was putting out a match. But Sans saw no match fly from her grasp. As he watched, the woman inhaled, breathing out smoke and a sigh of relief a moment later.

“Better,” she sighed, taking another drag from her cigarette. Abruptly, her gaze cut over to Sans, who froze.

“…The fuck are you staring at?” The woman asked, quirking a brow. “Never seen a human before?”

Something about her attitude was immediately annoying to Sans, and he gave her a sarcastic smile.

“‘Human’, huh? Dunno who you’re tryin’ to fool, sweetheart, but it’s not working.” His grin became unpleasant. “I know a _mage_ when I see one, after all.”

The mage exhaled, looking supremely unconcerned. As Sans watched, her brown eyes abruptly shifted color, turning violet, sparking with power.

Dangerous.

“Congratulations, you’re not an idiot.” She gave him a mock round of applause, and Sans felt his teeth clench together. “So what’re you here for, then? Come to try and run me out of town?”

She abruptly grinned around her cigarette, as if she’d like to see him try. It was a dangerous sight.

Sans scoffed, scuffing his slippered feet against the ground. What the hell _was_ he doing here? As if his stupid curiosity hadn’t gotten him into enough trouble—

A pair of silver eyes flashed in his mind’s eye, intuition sparking as they saw through his pretenses—

Sans forced words through his teeth without the conscious decision to do so.

“What’re you doin’ here?”

The woman raised her eyebrows; they disappeared into her hairline.

“…And what business is that of yours?” She asked, puffing on her cigarette as she eyed him oddly.

Sans shrugged, attempting to look nonchalant.

“Don’t get a lot of mages here. Nothin’ but trouble. So if you’re here to start somethin’—”

“You monsters can be _so_ self-absorbed,” she interrupted him with a longsuffering sigh. “Has it every occurred to any of you that the whole world is not out to get you?”

“I beg to differ, seein’ as how _your_ kind was responsible for us bein’ trapped underground in the first place.”

The mage twitched, a corner of her mouth pulling down. Puffing more agitatedly on her cigarette, she eyed him shrewdly.

“What do you want, an apology?”

“Wouldn’t hurt,” Sans reasoned. The mage straightened up, hands on her hips as she scowled down at him, her cigarette smoldering in between her lips.

“…Would you even believe it?” She questioned him.

Sans had to smile at that, albeit weakly, a simple shade of his true grin.

“Not likely. Still wouldn’t hurt.”

He waited, wondering what the mage would do. She watched him for a moment, those strange, violet eyes of hers critical.

And then she huffed, dropping her cigarette butt to the ground, grinding it out with the heel of her boot. Sans said nothing as she passed by him, his magic reacting in warning to her proximity. She didn’t touch him, didn’t even look at him, and Sans closed his eye sockets as she walked away. What was that about? He should really get home…

“Hey. You coming?”

The voice surprised him. Sans turned.

The mage was standing there, half-turned towards him, her hands in her pockets. Her eyebrow was arched, visible only when she shifted her side-swept bangs to the side. Waiting for him.

But why?

“Why?” Sans asked, unable to comprehend her, the familiar feeling unwanted at the moment. Reyna cocked her head to the side, and Sans felt his jaw clenched shut again.

“Because you’re out here in the middle of the night, talking to me, a mage.” A corner of her mouth lifted, and Sans blinked at the sudden smirk she shot at him. “You clearly have nothing better to do.”

That wasn’t true. He had to get home. Papyrus would worry if he stayed out too late. And the last thing Sans wanted was to worry his brother, who was already significantly concerned about him…given his current state…

But something about the way the mage’s gaze searched him—as if she was seeing right through him—rendered Sans unable to move. He hated this feeling, of being transparent. What good had it done him, getting close to someone who could tell what he was thinking just from a look? What use was it to allow the company of another such dangerous creature, when the first apparently had the power to break him simply by vanishing into thin air?

And _why_ couldn’t he just stop mourning her already?

The mage raised both her eyebrows now, her patience apparently wearing thin. If he was going to follow her—which he shouldn’t—he’d better make up his mind, and soon, or he sensed that she was just going to strut away and leave him to this autumn chill that was turning more and more bitter with every passing day…

‘ _This is a bad idea. A very, very bad idea._ ’

Sans agreed. Which was why he swallowed before he trudged after the mage, hands in his pockets, resignation in his expression.

The mage grinned.

 

* * *

 

 

Her name was Reyna.

He only learned it by way of the house—her house that was apparently sentient…and Japanese?—greeting her when she came in.

There was undoubtedly magic in this place, the obvious kind that made it clear exactly what was happening here: all the lights flicked on without Reyna touching a single light switch, the house was suddenly warm with no heater in sight, and as she shrugged out of her jacket, she snapped, and the T.V. came on, broadcasting some human sitcom about a woman with big hair and a grating voice running shenanigans through the mansion she was apparently raising three kids in. Very obvious magic at work here.

“Make yourself at home,” she invited Sans, kicking off her boots before she padded bare-foot over to the kitchen. Sans watched as her boots walked their way over to the side of the door, seemingly of their own accord. He resolved to keep his jacket on him.

“So,” he drawled, making his way to the sunken floor of the living room, “you live in a tree.”

“For now, yeah.” He could hear her eyebrow raising, even though she was currently buried in the fridge. “Problem?”

Sans shook his head. There was no problem. All mages were supposed to be odd, after all.

As he sank down into the couch, eye sockets aimed at the T.V., though he wasn’t really watching it, Reyna sat down next to him, sloshing a glass of what appeared to be wine in his face.

“Merlot?” She asked. Sans eyed the dark red liquid…and then pictured it splattered across snow.

He shivered involuntarily.

“No thanks,” he muttered, glancing away. He saw Reyna give him an odd look from his peripheral vision, but after a moment, she shrugged.

“More for me.” She added his share of wine to her own glass and took a sip, lips curving, eyes sliding shut. “Mmm…”

“I’m more of a ketchup kinda guy, myself,” Sans decided to offer…for no real discernable reason. Reyna glanced at him, her eyebrow raising again. She was going to lose it in her hairline if she kept that up, Sans was certain.

“Interesting choice of beverage,” she remarked, and Sans shrugged.

“It does the job.”

“Hmm…” Reyna took another sip of that dark red liquid, smacking her lips. Her brow was furrowed; she seemed to be thinking very hard about something. After a while, she snapped.

The T.V. turned off, leaving the space in silence…until she shifted, turning to frown at Sans, her head propped up on a fist.

“What’s with you?” She asked. Sans blinked, the direct question taking him by surprise.

He hated that.

“Whaddya mean?” He asked, racking his brain for a moment, trying to remember how to pun…

Nothing. Damn it.

Reyna’s scowl only deepened as she stared at him.

“You’re heavy,” she said, waving at the air surrounding him. “There’s misery leaking from every inch of you. It’s distracting.”

Sans gave her a look.

“Well sorry if I’m not as chipper as ya want me to be, sweetheart,” he grumbled, trying for a sarcastic smile. “I got a lot on my mind.”

Reyna squinted at him. He looked away from her, hating the intensity of her eyes as she searched him, searched for the answer to his anguish—apparently he wasn’t doing a very good job at this “coping” thing if total strangers could tell that he was struggling—

“What’s her name?” The mage suddenly asked. Sans’ gaze snapped back to her, horror-struck. Mages couldn’t read minds, could they?

‘ _Of course not,_ ’ a voice in his head tried to reason as he regarded Reyna warily, ‘ _then she would know, wouldn’t she, the name…_ ’

“Who?” Sans croaked, attempting to play dumb. And there went one of Reyna’s eyebrows again.

“The girl who broke your heart,” she probed.

Sans dropped his gaze again. She didn’t know. Good. He didn’t want her to know. If only others didn’t know, then they wouldn’t lower their voices around him, give him those pitying looks that made him feel more like garbage than usual…

“There’s no girl,” he said tonelessly.

Reyna gave a snort. He hated the sound.

“Sure there’s no girl. And there’s also no hangdog expression on you because there’s no girl that broke your heart, which is why you’re sitting here, sulking on my couch—”

His thread of patience, so frayed these days, snapped in two, the sound almost audible.

He had had just about enough of her wayward tongue.

A part of him felt stupid as he lunged at Reyna, startling her enough that she fell back, the wine glass she was holding going flying…only to land safely on the kitchen counter, not a drop of wine spilt.

Magic house. Right.

Sans brought his gaze back to Reyna, who stared up at him, eyebrows raised. She didn’t look exactly surprised—if anything, amusement was the main expression in her eyes as they sparked at him, challenging him.

Sans’ hands, where they rested on either side of Reyna’s head, closed into tight fists.

“You want me to prove there’s no girl?” He growled at her, feeling his power flare, his magic reacting to the challenge in her eyes. A part of him that was still rational—a very, _very_ small part—gaped at him from within his own head, demanding to know what exactly he thought he was doing. And, honestly, Sans wasn’t sure: this was stupid, he didn’t have to prove anything to this mage. And it wasn’t like he wanted Reyna the way he wanted _her_ —mostly, Sans just wanted Reyna to shut up and stop acting like she knew him. He was irrational, that small part of him tried to reason, emotionally compromised and taking it out on an innocent party…an innocent party that was irritating the hell out of him…

A slow smirk spread across Reyna’s face. Sans _hated_ it.

“Sure,” she said idly, looking unconcerned, unruffled. Superior. “If it’ll help you prove something to yourself.”

Sans _fucking hated her._

Before he could bring himself back to sense and reason, Sans lunged at her again, mashing his teeth against her lips. It had been a while, and he was out of practice, and it wasn’t the same, none of the usual build-up to the fireworks display he had come to expect when he kissed _her_ —Reyna was completely different, and instead of the crescendo, there was just a steady thrumming, a pulse of power that thudded from her, into Sans, making him growl under his breath as she kissed him back.

He wanted her to shut her mouth. He wanted to wipe that smug look off her face, the look that suggested that she was perfectly aware of the fact that she was right, that she was _always_ right. It bothered the hell out of him, the scale tipped out of balance once again by an anomaly that was thrust into his sight. He grabbed at her skin, noting that it was too warm, and she reacted the wrong way, snickering against him instead of sighing in satisfaction, her hands roaming over him instead of staying put, letting him have the control, letting him have the power. _Damn it,_ why couldn’t he just have this, at least?

Just as he was about to shove her wrists into the couch, Reyna surprised him again: she flipped them over, settling her weight against him now, pressing _him_ into the couch as she kissed _him._ Sans snarled under his breath; this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. His hands clumsily ran over her shirt, trying to find a weakness, a chink in her armor. Reyna’s thoughts were apparently similar, however: before Sans knew it, her fingertips were brushing his bare bones, slipping past the waistband of his shorts…

Sans froze. No, wait, she couldn’t do that, that wasn’t allowed, he was the one who was supposed to have the power here, she couldn’t touch him that way, not there, _not there_ —

Reyna’s nails scraped his ischium, making Sans jerk, a hand jumping to cover his eye sockets as he felt blue flood his skull.

“A-ah!” He groaned, unable to help it, the sensation still so raw, incredible. He shuddered at the touch, picturing silver eyes glinting at him in the dark, a small giggle betraying the barest hint of desire… “A-Aeris…”

The hand touching him froze…and then removed itself from him completely, leaving him cold. In the resulting loss of heat, Sans remembered where he was and who he was with…and who he was without.

And then he cursed himself into the deepest depths of the void for his slip of the tongue.

“Aeris, huh…” drawled a voice over him. Sans grit his teeth, his hand tightening over his closed eye sockets, quite content to never look at the owner of that voice again. But she would not be ignored, and he felt her lean over her him, her breath touching his skull… “That’s a girl’s name, isn’t it? Aeris.”

There was an ominous grinding sound coming from his mouth, but Sans didn’t care. He wrenched his hand from his skull and sat up, nearly knocking into Reyna as he did so. He glared up at her, his heavy breathing having nothing to do with the heated kiss they just shared.

“Shut up,” he growled at her, “don’t say her name.”

“The name of the girl who _definitely_ didn’t break your heart or anything,” she said, the stress in her words speaking of a thousand volumes of smugness. God, where was the mute button on her? Actually, scratch that—Sans just needed a “FIGHT” button, and all would be resolved. “I totally called it. So, how come she broke up with you? Was it—”

“She didn’t break up with me,” Sans cut her off, anger and grief thudding through him, knocking the breath out of him, the pain he momentarily forgot making a fierce return. “She’s dead.”

Even almost three years later, the words still nearly killed him to say.

Reyna paused. It was by the slightest widening of her eyes that Sans was able to tell that he caught her by surprise. He glared up at her, feeling wretched about the whole situation. It really had been a mistake to come here…

“…I see,” she said after a beat. “That…explains a lot.”

 Sans let out a harsh breath, sliding back as far as he could to put space between him and Reyna, as if that would erase the last few minutes from existence. She noticed.

“Look,” she began after a moment, closing her eyes. “I can appreciate that you’re hurting. It’s…never easy to lose someone.” Her eyes abruptly snapped open again, her irises suddenly reduced to pinpricks of color, giving her the look of someone deranged.

“That does not, however, give you the right to use me to make yourself feel better.”

Sans scowled back at her, unsure of which emotion raging within him should win out: his guilt or his defiance.

“I only wanted you to shut your mouth about things you don’t understand,” he grumbled, nevertheless glancing away from her; that look was starting to creep him out.

“I wish your brain was big enough to figure out a better solution, then,” she shot at him, moving back with a huff. She looked bothered, as if…

As if Sans had actually hurt her feelings.

‘ _Chink in armor: detected._ ’

“Well sorry if ya expected more from me, sweetheart,” he drawled, getting up from the couch, his hands in his pockets. “But I only followed ya here on a whim. You said it yourself: I had nothin’ better to do.”

Reyna’s eyes flashed at him, and she got up, too, towering over him, though she was only a couple inches taller than him.

“Then maybe you should leave…”

An insane grin suddenly appeared on her face, hostile, predatory.

Dangerous.

“Unless you want me to rip that grin off your face the hard way,” she threatened, her voice quiet…and quite serious.

Sans felt his magic react, and his fingers twitched, as if itching to summon his blaster and duke it out with her, as she so clearly wanted—

There was a shrill ringing from his pocket. Sans knew without looking who it was.

Papyrus was worried. Damn it.

Sans took a deep breath through his nasal cavity. It didn’t help much, but just enough to remind him not to throw his life away on a useless fight with a mentally-unstable mage.

Silencing his phone, Sans glanced away from Reyna, the urge to fight her just to feel something slowly subsiding. She had a point, he supposed—it _was_ wrong of him to use her.

But if she hadn’t started it, hadn’t goaded him…

He shook his head at himself. Excuses, excuses.

“I’m gonna go.”

Reyna said nothing. Sans was careful not to turn his back on her as he slowly made his way to the door, which swung open without him having to touch it.

Right. Magic house.

“I think it’s probably best if we don’t see each other again,” Sans said as he stepped out onto the welcome mat—which was not so welcoming, if the words “Fuck Off” etched into it were any indication. “Don’t think I’d like to be seen with a she-devil, honestly.”

“Better a she-devil than a fucking bag of bones,” Reyna hissed at him, her eyes narrowing. “But so be it—you stay out of my way, I’ll stay out of yours.”

Sans gave a curt nod. It was for the best—he didn’t think he’d be able to stop himself from attacking her if he ever saw her again. Something about her just rubbed him in all the wrong ways. It was better to avoid her.

Papyrus was irritated, of course, when Sans managed to call him back. Luckily, he could only fuss for about ten minutes, because his phone battery was dying, and he had to go charge it. He promised Sans that he was in for more of an earful when he got home—despite the fact that they didn’t have ears—and hung up, leaving Sans to sigh to himself as he walked through the shedding trees, a world of red, orange and brown surrounding him in the moonlight. He almost dropped his phone back into his pocket, but then a text notification caught his attention. Opening it, he saw the text was from Alphys, inviting him over to her lab tomorrow to help her get some work done.

Sans’ mind wandered for a moment, thinking of another lab, of another machine, of the work he wanted to do in order to get it working again, how he would give nearly anything just to fix it, to change everything—

‘ _No,_ ’ whispered a voice in his mind, and Sans had to agree, though it made him sigh heavily. Nothing would be solved by fiddling around with that damn thing. It was a dead end, and it was high time that he accepted that.

It was high time that he accepted a lot of things.

Deciding that a bit of _constructive_ lab work would do him good, he responded positively to Alphys, agreeing to meet with her tomorrow morning. Now, all he had to do was try and get as much sleep as possible tonight, provided the dreams didn’t interfere…as they always did…

The moon shone down bright upon him, silver beams lighting his way through the forest. Sans stopped, staring up at the orb in the sky.

It was the same silver.

Sans swallowed, stiffening his jaw and rubbing at his eye sockets, where hot liquid could suddenly be felt. With a sigh pulled from his soul, he turned his back on the moon and trudged his way home.

 

* * *

 

Reyna was livid.

Here she was, trying to be a good Samaritan to this monster—a monster that felt like the cheap glue holding him together would wear off, and his shattered being would splinter once again—but not only had he attempted to _use_ her, but he had the absolute _nerve_ to act like he hadn’t done anything wrong!

If Reyna still believed that killing was the only answer, that smiling bag of bones would be nothing but dust on her floor right about now.

‘ _Remember your support group…you’ve been so good up to now…_ ’

She puffed on her cigarette, neither it nor the cool autumn breeze doing anything to temper her anger. Something had to be done about Smiley Bone Bag…but what?

Reyna glanced at her watch, noting with another spike of annoyance that Grillby’s was probably closed by now. Damn it…she had been waiting until it emptied out so she could see him before she was supposed to leave tonight, but she had been completely side-tracked by that walking wreck of a monster that dared to disturb her during her smoke break…

…As a matter of fact…

Didn’t Smiley come out of Grillby’s?

“Hmm,” Reyna hummed to herself, straightening up. She put out her cigarette before stepping back inside for her jacket and boots.

“ココロちゃん, 出きる.”

“え?” Questioned the house, clearly startled by this abrupt departure. “でも, たった今帰りました, ね?”

“うん,” Reyna couldn’t help but agree—it was the truth, after all. “でも…今、出きなければなりません．行ってきます.”

Kokoro was clearly curious about whatever errand her master suddenly had to run at this hour…but she only wished her a safe return, as she was supposed to do. Reyna shut the door behind her, sucking in the cool autumn night before she jumped from the tree, landing solidly on her feet and heading back to Monster Town, magic speeding her steps.

With a little luck, she’d be able to get the answers she needed from Grillby…hopefully without getting stuck in her own complicated past with him along the way.

 

* * *

 

Her talk with Grillby had been more illuminating than Reyna expected. She hadn't realized how close he was to Sans, but now that she knew, her resolve to put her plan in motion was unshakable.

She shivered, more from the atmosphere than from the snow on the ground as she moved quietly through the abandoned space, the silence pressing in on her, making her anxious.

So this was the Underground…

The monsters seemed like they did all right for themselves, Reyna reasoned to herself as she moved through the ruins and reached Snowdin. These were once homes, she could tell, cozy, familiar, welcoming. The monsters had definitely made the best of their situation, put down roots here…it was comforting, in a way.

It didn’t assuage her guilt over having a hand in the imprisonment oh so many years ago…but it helped to know that maybe they weren’t completely miserable down here.

She shook her head and focused, following the feverish energy she could feel just on the edge of the town of Snowdin; it was centered in a small space behind a large house, Christmas lights still flickering feebly where they were strung from the overhang of the roof. Again, cozy.

And again, not what Reyna was here for.

She shivered again at the memories of lives all but forgotten down here, re-focusing on her task. She could just feel Sans inside his little clubhouse at the back of the house, the erratic, nearly manic possession that overtook him confirming her fears: he was at the very end of his rope, and it was fraying fast.

If she didn’t do something soon, he would fall.

Reyna took a deep breath, closing her eyes to focus. That thing he was working on, whatever it was, was unstable. He clearly didn’t realize it, but Reyna could feel it from here: one wrong move, and the thing could explode.

…It could explode…

Reyna’s brow furrowed as she concentrated, giving the machine a little push. The power flexed, reacting to her magic. She pushed again, steadily driving the power up. This could be considered vindictive, she supposed, but Reyna justified her actions by reminding herself that she was doing Sans a favor—the memories of this Aeris girl was hurting him, killing him, even. And this was clearly a fool’s errand, this work he was trying to do to change something. The way Reyna saw it, she was getting rid of the memories hurting Sans and a device clearly too dangerous to be left alone. Two birds, one stone.

As she gave another push, however, Reyna was made aware of the fact that she wasn’t alone by a presence that fell like a physical shadow over her. Her concentration broke, and she cursed under her breath, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Knock it off,” she muttered to whatever presence was behind her, tugging at her. “You can’t stop me, and you aren’t going to change my mind. It’s for his own good.”

The presence clearly didn’t agree, but when Reyna simply began to ignore it, it fled to the shed behind the house, apparently wishing to warn Sans. Whether he understood or tried to heed the warning, Reyna didn’t know, and she didn’t care—she gave the strange machine one final push, a hand closing into a fist as she pictured it combusting in her mind’s eye.

And combust it did.

The explosion threw Sans from the shed, and Reyna realized with a jolt that this might possibly kill him—ah, but the presence was there again, ensuring that Sans’ landing was not as rough as it might’ve been…though she still saw that he bumped his head pretty hard. Good for a cover story—he would feel that when he woke up, and probably reason that he had bonked his head too hard, and just knocked the memories loose. No one would look too closely—no one would discover the lock in his mind, the key held firmly in Reyna’s grasp, though perhaps not physically. No one would know of her involvement…

The presence guarding Sans turned to her. Reyna squinted, but all she could make out was a tall shadow, and nothing more. When she tried to focus, to bring it into proper view, it flickered…and then vanished.

The shed was on fire, a furious inferno that threatened to consume everything in the immediate area. Sans lay not too far away, unconscious, and Reyna hesitated, wondering if it was safe to just leave him there—

“SANS!”

Ah, but the cavalry had arrived. Reyna stepped back, using her magic to erase herself from sight. If the tall skeleton that rushed past her had seen or sensed her, he showed no indication of it, instead rushing over to the short skeleton passed out in the snow…hmm. Maybe they were related. Reyna shrugged and turned her back on the scene, once again using her magic to speed her steps. She would stick around for a bit, see if the spell worked...but after that, the matter was out of her hands. Sans should return to his normal (and probably terrible) self, and she would leave, allowing Grillby to keep one of his good friends, and most importantly, keep her brief involvement with Sans a secret.

After she was sure her job was done, she wouldn’t waste another thought on Smiley Bone Bag.

 

* * *

 

A couple weeks later, Reyna jolted from her sleep, her bedsheets sticking to her. Kokoro tentatively asked if everything was all right, but Reyna ignored her, swallowing against the dryness of her mouth.

She had just had the strangest dream:

The image of a tall, pale girl with short, incredibly tangled dark hair stood at the base of a familiar mountain. Her brow was furrowed, cheeks red and smattered with freckles, and her silver eyes were determined.

‘ _Aeris_ ,’ whispered a mysterious voice in Reyna’s mind. ‘ _Her name is Aeris._ ’

The girl Sans mourned wasn’t dead.

She was very much alive.

And, if Reyna was reading her expression correctly, Aeris was planning on seeing Sans very, very soon.

‘ _Shit._ ’

Reyna had fucked up big time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> "Kokoro, I'm going out."  
> "Huh? But, didn't you just get back?"  
> "Yeah...but I have to go out. I'll be back."
> 
> God this was weird.
> 
> The whole time I was writing the kiss scene, my brain was screaming "Wrong skeleton, wrONG FUCKING SKELETON, ABORT ABORT."
> 
> So yeah. Now you have all the puzzle pieces.
> 
> Reyna did act because she felt Sans needed help...but hurt feelings were DEFINITELY a factor here.
> 
> Pettiness disguised as charity. Genius.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! <3
> 
> ~Reyna


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost forgot about this!
> 
> It was a Tumblr prompt, but it's relevant, so here you go, second chapter~
> 
> Enjoy! <3
> 
> ~Reyna

The front door of the bar opened and closed, and Grillby glanced over his shoulder, perplexed. Odd—all his regulars knew what time he closed, so who was—?

His question was answered almost as soon as he thought it, in the form of a dark-skinned girl with even darker hair, her attitude on full display as she stood in front of the door, hands stuffed in the pockets of her jacket, her brown eyes alive with mischief.

As Grillby stared, she smirked a bit, and violet melted into her irises until it was the only color there.

“Hey,” she greeted, strutting towards the bar and taking a seat with ease. “I’ll have whatever you’re in the mood to make.”

It took Grillby longer than he would have liked to recover. Once he did, he regarded Reyna with a false stern look.

“The bar’s closed,” he pointed out, though he knew she could not have missed the “CLOSED” sign hanging in the front window.

Reyna looked far from apologetic as she shrugged.

“Which is why I said I’ll have whatever you’re in the mood to make. I’ll even pay extra,” she promised, retrieving a coin bag from her pocket and rattling it; the sound of gold clinking together was heard from the bag.

Grillby sighed. He didn’t care about the money, not really. He didn’t even care all that much that it was after hours. What _did_ bother him was what Reyna was doing here.

Deciding to broach the subject after he fulfilled the distraction, Grillby swiftly mixed up a Cosmopolitan, a human drink he had just recently learned to make. He slid it across the bar, careful not to dip his hand too close to the liquid, lest he make the glass explode. Reyna took it, sipping a bit before she took an actual swig, smacking her lips in satisfaction.

“Not bad,” she said, and Grillby knew to take that as the highest compliment she was willing to pay. He watched her as she enjoyed her drink, crossing his arms and silently wondering to himself whether he really wanted to know the reason she was still around in Monster Town.

After a moment, he decided to risk it.

“You told me you were leaving tonight,” Grillby reminded her, and he watched as Reyna lowered her glass, suddenly looking cautious. “What changed?”

Reyna set her glass down on the bar, letting her hand rest next to it, her fingers tapping the surface of the bar. She appeared to be deep in thought for a moment.

“…That skeleton,” she said after a moment, her brow furrowing at some unknown irritation, “Sans, I think his name is. Do you know what’s wrong with him?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because he seems like he’s going to do something stupid soon if he keeps carrying on the way he is,” Reyna said point blank, the bluntness of her tone causing her to sound more callous than her expression suggested. Grillby regarded her for a moment in silence.

“…He’s having a hard time,” he admitted at last, treading cautiously through this conversation, because it was not his business to tell, not really. So he would just give Reyna the bare facts. “Someone very close to him died a couple years ago. He’s still coping.”

“Someone named Aeris?” Reyna asked, surprising Grillby. Though, he supposed he shouldn’t be all that surprised…while she might be different from the Reyna he once knew, her intuition hadn’t changed at all.

“Yes.”

“He loved her.” It wasn’t a question.

Grillby bowed his head, suddenly interested in redoing the cuffs of his shirt.

“Yes,” he replied shortly.

It was silent at the bar for a while. When Grillby finally had the nerve to look back up at Reyna, her gaze was away, staring, perhaps, at some distant future Grillby couldn’t see. But of course, that wasn’t actually one of her talents; that was just Grillby’s impression of her.

“Hmmm,” she hummed, looking so troubled that it amused Grillby.

“Are you going to tell me just why you’re so bothered by Sans’ troubles? I was not aware that you two were close.”

Reyna’s gaze suddenly focused on Grillby, and it was fierce.

“We’re not,” she snapped, suddenly defensive. Grillby just stared at her, and embarrassment invaded her features.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, looking away from him. “I just don’t think it’s okay for him to be behaving so destructively. He’s gonna end up killing himself, to be sure. Whether by accident or on purpose, though…”

“You sound like you want to do something about it.”

“I do,” Reyna admitted, her hands wrapping around her glass, though she did not lift it to drink from it. She just stared into it instead, as if the alcohol would show her the proper way to deal with Sans’ long melancholy. “I have an idea, as a matter of fact…but it’s risky.”

Grillby waited. He knew Reyna would tell him without him prompting her, because that was just her way. It had been her way ever since the first time he met her. Lots of things had changed since then—the way she wore her hair, her style of dress, her attitude towards humanity—but it had been six years since they reconnected, and he had gotten to get to know her all over again. Some changes about her made him ache deep in his soul, but fundamentally, her straightforward personality had remained the same…for the most part.

Reyna took a sip from her drink, swirling it around as she thought some more. Finally, she glanced up, meeting Grillby’s gaze.

“How many is ‘a couple years’, exactly? Since Aeris…passed?”

“About three.”

“Hmm…three years’ worth of memories…that’s a lot of magic.”

Grillby stared at her. “What are you plotting?”

Reyna gave a shrug, and took another sip of her drink.

“Well, it’s the memory of this girl he lost that’s making him suffer, right? Wouldn’t he go back to his old self if he…‘forgot’ her?”

Grillby felt his mouth fell open and hastened to correct it, certain that he looked stupid right about now.

“You can do that?” He asked, faintly awed at Reyna’s power. She didn’t seem to like the change in his demeanor, though, if her scowl was any indication.

“It’s not permanent,” she informed him, “it would basically just be taking his memories and locking them away until he’s ready to deal with them. And it’s not fool-proof, either—something could happen to trigger the lock on its own without the key. I’m not kidding when I say it’s risky…but it really might help.” Folding her arms across her chest, Reyna quirked a brow at Grillby. “What do you think?”

Briefly, Grillby wondered why she was seeking his opinion. After all, Reyna usually did whatever she wanted without consulting anyone else. Why was he so special?

Actually, scratch that last question. Grillby knew why. But Reyna had insisted upon dancing around the issue all this time, so he rather felt that it wasn’t up to him to bring it up right now.

“I am…undecided,” he admitted after a moment’s thought. “On the one hand, if _you’re_ saying it’s risky, then the result could be catastrophic.” He paused as Reyna scowled at him, offering an apologetic shrug. “But, on the other hand…Sans is one of my dear friends, and I hate to see him like this.”

Grillby leaned forward, crossing his arms on the bar as he stared down at it in thought. Every day, Sans seemed to wear down just a little bit more, and this was the third year and counting. Grillby didn’t like admitting that Reyna had a point about Sans doing something stupid, and possibly soon…but everyone else had seen just how dispirited Sans had become, so Grillby supposed an incident would soon be inevitable. So if there was someone who was willing to do something about it before Sans had a chance to do something they would all live to regret…

“…Will it hurt him?” Grillby asked the bar top. He heard Reyna sigh.

“No more than he’s already hurting. I think,” she added in an afterthought.

Grillby glanced up at her, searching her face as he asked his next question:

“Can you save him?”

Reyna’s face settled into a stubborn expression that Grillby knew all too well.

“I’m not leaving until I try everything I can think of,” she vowed, an undercurrent to her voice that Grillby didn’t understand. “ _Something_ has to be done.”

“…” Why did Grillby get the strangest feeling from this conversation? It was almost as if…

“…Are you in love with Sans?” He asked cautiously, unsure if he even wanted to hear the answer. But before he could get too worked up, Reyna’s expression transformed from determination to derision, and she gave a loud snort.

“You’re fuckin’ kidding me, right?” She asked, her tone so dry it could be its own desert. “ _That_ sad sack of bones? Oh _please._ ”

“Then why do you care so much what happens to him?” Grillby pressed, needing to understand this one thing, at least. “Why go to such lengths to keep him alive?”

Reyna huffed, and the next look she gave Grillby suggested that she was questioning his intelligence.

“I don’t know why you’re complaining. Would you rather I let one of your ‘dearest friends’ destroy himself?”

And, as he stared at Reyna’s mulish expression, Grillby abruptly understood: she wasn’t doing this for Sans. She was doing this for him.

Well, mostly. Grillby knew Reyna well enough to know that part of this was about Sans, though it seemed she wouldn’t enlighten him as to why any time soon. Oh well. Why look a Gyftrot in the mouth?

“…Very well,” Grillby relented, straightening up as Reyna picked up her glass to take another swig. “What can I do to help?”

Reyna raised her eyebrows at him, lowering her glass.

“You wanna help?”

“Of course. Sans is my friend, after all.”

Reyna seemed to consider him for a long moment. Finally, a slow smirk began to spread across her face. Grillby eyed it warily, wondering what mischief she was planning now…

“…Well,” she began slowly, “it would be nice if I could observe Sans for a while after I take his memories, just to make sure he’ll be all right for a while.” She glanced around at the empty bar. “He comes in here a lot, yeah?”

“Nearly every night,” Grillby confirmed, seeing where this was going, “would you like a temporary job here to keep an eye on him, then?”

“I would.” Reyna’s eyes flashed back to Grillby, calculating. “I’ll manage the bar while you’re on vacation.”

The flaming monster paused, staring at Reyna as if she had just suggested he go swimming.

“…Pardon me?” He asked, certain he could not have heard right. Maybe he needed his ears cleaned out, since they seemed to be so full of fire that he was hearing things…

Reyna grinned at his puzzled expression.

“What? I can handle a bar. Got my liquor license and everything. And don’t tell me you don’t need a vacation—when was the last time you and Siz spent some quality family time together?”

Now she was suddenly concerned about his relationship with his daughter? Something didn’t add up here…

“Is there a reason you are so desperate to get rid of me while you attempt this plan?” Grillby wanted to know, folding his arms across his chest as he inspected her.

“Look, do you want me to help Sans or not?” Reyna asked, raising her eyebrows at Grillby as if _he_ was being difficult. “I need a controlled environment to observe Sans without distractions.”

“I am a distraction?”

Reyna lifted her glass to her lips again, but she did not drink from it. She stared at Grillby instead, suddenly solemn. 

“A big one.” She glanced away from him for a moment. “I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice.”

Grillby had nothing to say to that. A few words came to mind—like ‘hypocrite’—but he swallowed them. Now was not the time. Perhaps there would never be a time. So much time had passed around them and between them…things were very different from how they used to be.

It didn’t change the way Grillby felt about Reyna…but perhaps that was not enough.

The conversation soon ended after that, with Grillby agreeing, against his better judgment, to allow Reyna free reign of his bar while he indeed took a vacation with his daughter. He could stand to be away for a few weeks, he supposed…winter was coming…and he heard the Bahamas were nice this time of year…

He just hoped Reyna didn’t do any lasting damage. He trusted her enough to let her try her plan…but Grillby wasn’t so far gone to not realize that he was nowhere near objective when it came to Reyna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sighs*
> 
> Grillby definitely deserved better. Poor guy.
> 
> That's all (for now) for the ATS universe. Despite my making this more complicated than it needed to be, I hope you enjoyed~ <3
> 
> ~Reyna


End file.
